Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: Fly Agaric

Sunday, March 13, 2022

Mosaic Monday #169: Two Anniversaries!

March 2, 2017 was my first ever blog post, and March 3 marked 5 years since my retirement. My goodness, where did that time go? I took the opportunity to review the nine posts I have made about retirement, prompting several observations and some resolutions.

In my first retirement post on March 13, 2017, I wrote: "I have paid my dues with hours worked over the last 28 years. Let's do a quick calculation: assuming an average of 45 weeks of work a year and 66 hours a week, that is 32,670 hours more than a 40-hour week. So, even though I have retired young by normal standards, I actually already worked the hours that equates to another 18.2 years." In other words, I still have another 13.2 years to go before I recoup that overtime!!!

That post has been read 88 times and had no comments. By the time I penned my next retirement instalment on March 27, 2017, I had picked up a few more readers (116) and two of them were commenting! One was Tammy at T's Daily Treasures (tsdailytreasures.blogspot.com). Tammy was instrumental in leading me to many of the other bloggers that are an essential part of my blogging community today! The other was a former neighbor in Cleveland - you know who you are!

Cooking and food have been consistent themes in my posts, and April 7, 2017 is a good example. In perusing these posts, I have realized that there are several recipes that we enjoyed that have since gathered dust. We will have to remedy that situation!

My fourth retirement entry, on May 27, 2017 was a popular post - 205 readers and 23 comments. In re-reading the comments, I was delighted to realize that I "go way back" with so many of my fellow bloggers - Sallie of A Full Time Life, Miyako of Orchid's Daily Voice, Wren of Little Wandering Wren, Sylvia of SMD Paper Arts, Mary of Red-Shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond and LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color. It also made me wonder about some bloggers I "knew well" and have not heard from for quite a while - I want to reach out and see if we can reconnect. By May of 2017, I had discovered Mosaic Monday and had begun linking to it - in that period, it was hosted by Maggie of Normandy Life - she has since changed her blog to turning the page (hazelbarn.blogspot.com) and does not post as frequently.

Faithful readers of my blog have become accustomed to my nicknames for the people in my life - #1 Daughter, #1 Son, Spousal Unit, Dear Neighbor Friend. When I first began blogging, it was intended to protect our privacy. In addition to avoiding the use of names, initially I didn't even include photos with our faces .... I am over that now, but these pseudonyms have taken on a life of their own, and I can't change it NOW! This is especially true of Man with Hat, who was introduced in my fifth retirement post on July 14, 2017. Some of my fellow bloggers, such as Phil of Another Bird Blog, join in the game. Phil recently referred to my husband as Man in a Plane! By summer 2017, Lorrie of Fabric Paper Thread and Kit of A Montana Life were regular commenters, and my posts were typically garnering more than 210 readers.

With my December 15, 2017 post, I paused to reflect on retirement thus far, utilizing recommendations from my work colleagues at my going-away party. "Don't forget to start a new hobby, enjoy reading a book, stay active, laugh every day and eat, drink and be merry," they said. I must have taken their advice to heart, because my next retirement post was March 3, 2019, a full 14 months later! Along the way, I met Tom of Tom the Backroads Traveller, Margy of Margy Meanders, Carol of Comfort Spring Station, Eileen of Viewing Nature with Eileen, Ellen of The Happy Wonderer, and Lady Fi.

Yes, life was pleasantly busy in those 14 months - we moved into our dream log home, we were hired as Ambassadors at Whitefish Mountain Resort for the winter seasons, and several volunteer activities had landed on my plate. I was also well on the way to becoming best friends with my dear neighbor. So many blessings!

I can't explain why that March 3, 2019 post had 409 readers, but I won't dig too deep! Perhaps it was the fact that I included the speeches my kids made at the time of my retirement. Or my reflections on the fortune cookie fortunes I have collected over the years. Or that I had begun hosting Mosaic Monday by this time, which drew more readers. Who knows? I had made some new blogging friends, such as the delightful furbabies at Brian's Home, Jenn of Cottage Country Reflections, Pat of Mille Fiori Favoriti, Heidrun of Soul and Mind, Riitta of Floral Passions, Jill of Life Images by Jill, Su-sieemac of Barefoot Susie, Melbourne Daily, My Desktop Daily, Jan of Low Carb Diabetic, William of Ottawa Daily Photos, Linda of The View from Squirrel Ridge, David of Travels with Birds, Bob of Birds and Nature in the Forest of Dean, Debbie of Its All About Purple and Bill of Somewhere in Ireland.

A year later, in the March 8, 2020 post, I reported that I had become over-involved. "Looking in the mirror ... I have not succeeded in letting go of perfection and structure, and, despite my desire to enjoy more time crafting, these activities continue to get deferred because I have jumped head-first into volunteering, working and many other activities, which I give priority." Sadly, in the two years since that post, this has not changed. If anything, I have even more on my plate now. This time, I AM resolved to make changes/room for craft projects, jigsaw puzzles, and flying my drone!

My last retirement-themed post was March 21, 2021. Montana was starting to emerge from the pandemic, but not to the point of throwing a party! Serving as my own DJ, I spun up 5 songs/videos that represented freedom, "rocking through the wilderness", good friends, "lighting a fire for the silent and broken-hearted" and the desire for new experiences. I reflected that "if I want to have freedom, I have to choose carefully where I invest my time." As much as I prefer to know my schedule, I also regret the times when I have turned down an invitation to hike (or some other event) because I am committed. So, my friends, as I enter the sixth year of my retirement, most activities are candidates for the chopping block. I may give up volunteering at the Museum. I am actively recruiting a replacement for my role on the Carnival Board. I have even thought about how much time I should be devoting to blogging!!!

I am resolved to honor our family motto:

Watch this space!

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All of the pictures above were from the last 12 months.

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In the last two years, a few more bloggers joined my cherished circle: Sally of Crafts, Cavies and Cooking, Sue of Kiwikids Page, Diane of Lavender Dreams, Maria of Love the Planet Productions, Alan of Yogis Den, Sharon of Sharon's Souvenirs, Monica of Nature Footstep, Gillena of Verses, Jocelyn of Canadian Needle Nana, Judy of Life in Kentucky, Yoko of Stardust Talk, Raewyn at Stitching Farm Girl, Traude of Rostrose, Daniela of My Little Old World and Kim of Sarah Lizzies. I apologize if I have inadvertently left anyone out! Thanks to all in blogland that have made my blogging journey so fascinating and inspiring!

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.

The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time).

Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.

Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.

As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.

Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.

Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Mosaic Monday #159: Walking in "Style"

Walking the public footpaths of the UK has to be one of my favorite activities on Earth. Idyllic topography. The flora and fauna. An occasional pub for an adult beverage. Dry stone walls. It brings back memories of the first walks with my husband-to-be, when we discovered a shared passion for hiking and the outdoors. Be still, my heart!

So, of course, on our recent visit to the UK in October/November, we managed to squeeze in one walk for just the two of us, somehow sandwiched in between the rampant rain!

We began in Middleton-on-Teesdale, so named for its prime location in the valley where the River Tees snakes its way among banks lined with trees.

Barns and dry stone walls, withstanding wind, rain and decomposing moss, are ubiquitous.

Not too far into our walk, I erupted in laughter when I saw this sign.

Style (noun): a distinctive appearance

Stile (noun): an arrangement of steps that allows people but not animals to climb over a fence or wall

Below, Spousal Unit is standing on a stile with style. (Enlarge if you don't believe me! LOL!)

Along the path (can you see it in the picture below, hugging the left side of the wall?) our passing disturbed groups of pheasants, both male and female. Did you know? A brace of pheasants is a pair. A brood is a family group. A group of pheasants may be known as a flock or a bouquet. A large group is a nye or nide.

I don't think I have seen as many pheasants on one outing as we saw at various points on this day. We were also blessed to glimpse not one but two weasels within an hour of each other. Each one scampered into a hole below a stone wall, and how I longed to linger and see if it emerged!

At times, the footpath followed the banks of the river with military precision. Then, it would climb the foothills, offering spectacular vistas of the river and fields beyond.

Several tributaries flowed down the hill and into the river. We were thankful for this bridge to cross one of the larger ones. Near here, we had to jump across a swollen creek!

The video below shows the high water level of the river itself.

As we approached our turnaround point, a rock escarpment known as the Holwick Scars jutted up into the gathering clouds. How would you like to have this in your back yard?

Suddenly, we came upon an area bedecked with Fly Agaric, a beautiful and photogenic mushroom, despite its toxicity. Maybe they are always in this area, or maybe it was a function of the extra rainfall. Never mind the reason - I was entranced!

Have you ever noticed that, once you see something, your eye is attuned to it and in a flash, you see more of it everywhere? Check out these other mushrooms.

At this point, we entered Moor House - Upper Teesdale National Nature Preserve. One of the largest in England, the Preserve covers some 88 square kilometers of special upland habitats. It is Britain's leading site for research into the effects of a changing climate on the natural environment.

The reserve is famous for its unique Arctic-Alpine plants which have survived here since the last Ice Age and are today conserved by traditional farming and moorland management.

Our turning point was Low Force, a waterfall that tumbles over the Whin Sill, a layer of hard rock called dolerite, known locally as whinstone. The Whin Sill formed 295 million years ago, when molten rock rose up from within the Earth and spread out between layers of limestone, sandstone and shale. The molten rock cooled and hardened underground to form a vast sheet of rock known as a "sill". Millions of years of erosion have exposed the Whin Sill at the surface here at Low Force. (The Holwick Scars are also part of the Whin Sill.)

The still photo does not do the waterfall justice - check out the two videos!

On the way back, we sped up a little, in light of the heavy clouds overhead. Good thing, too, or we might have been out in the heavy downpour for longer! Just before the heavens opened, I managed a final shot of Holwick Scars - even more majestic from this vantage point!